ARCHITECTURE
artificial lighting. There is a way to balance privacy and dignity with corridor design and nurse access. Culturally responsive design is essential, whether in rural Scotland or an English town, and global best practice can raise standards. Middle Eastern health projects, often influenced by hospitality design, offer useful cues. At King’s College Hospital in Jeddah, interiors use warm tones inspired by traditional wooden shading screens and sea foam accents. These refined approaches to the interiors can inform future rural healthcare interiors.
The large courtyard garden at RLUH.
access to courtyard gardens and external areas. For rural projects, there is so much more opportunity to soften the design, with natural materials such as wood with coatings or sealants and different laminates for a more domestic feel. There are ways to design and live up to what needs to be done, and to balance the practicalities of working in healthcare and around infection control standards. Materials inside can be more natural, making the healthcare facility feel more domestic and comfortable, like a home. There are innovations in materials and products that
should be adopted, with higher-end finishes for look and feel, yet remain durable for healthcare environments, rather than the typical hospital plastic upholstery. Manufacturers are developing softer, more domestic products for health uses that reduce the clinical aesthetic.
Jane Ho
Jane Ho is a partner and regional practice director, health, at HKS. She works in the firm’s London office, focused on developing the integration of concept and functionality and how people experience healthcare facilities. Jane designs with sensitivity for flexibility and adaptability, developing better buildings for a holistic user experience.
Creating visual identities Interior design strategies can also enhance wayfinding, helping to define public spaces and guide users through facilities by creating visual identities to describe spatial hierarchies. Where building zones and public areas are identified using colours and material finishes, the need for directional signage and visual clutter is reduced, creating a less institutional and consequently more welcoming atmosphere. This approach becomes particularly useful where zones may be occupied by different services on different days of the week. Proper use of colours can promote a variety of benefits, from healing and reducing stress to improved wayfinding and navigation, from careful colour choices and dementia-friendly designs for patients living with dementia, to places for children where colour can foster fun, less frightening environments, as well as calming, restorative atmospheres for patient rooms and waiting rooms. Recently designed patient rooms incorporate high-
quality, adjustable detailing that allows control and comfort. For lighting control, patients can adjust room settings such as privacy curtains and both natural and
66 Health Estate Journal August 2026
Restoring access and belonging in underserved areas The new Neighbourhood Health Centres need to be first and foremost community centres. Although their locations will vary – from high streets to more spacious plots with parking – I believe many should be brought back to high streets for a more communal feel. As neighbourhood hubs, they should include GPs, but, depending on the needs of the locale, some should also include offerings such as a baby crèche, a nutritionist, a pharmacy, a physio, preventive health services, and even a library. On top of this, modern technology and the digitisation of health should be supported. They should be flexible spaces, with areas for health practitioners to perform virtual calls and assessments. In rural areas, we typically have GP services very much just for nurse practitioners and GPs. Decades ago, they were more likely to be the family doctors you grew up with. How do we maintain that connectivity while also supporting the government’s desire to reestablish Neighbourhood Health Centres that are thriving 30 years from now? Well-designed community spaces can help to provide a more patient-focused environment which encourages those individuals who might otherwise be less inclined to visit a healthcare facility to engage with the system. These are often more vulnerable or isolated members of the community who might visit a library or cafe space, where healthcare staff can informally offer social prescribing, group therapies and identify those who would most benefit from community services. Careful planning and design of welcoming public spaces and complimentary community facilities can help to support a more preventative model and a truly integrated system. The design of these Centres must also create a fantastic
working environment for staff, where they feel valued and motivated to Deliver high-quality care. This is especially important in rural areas where Community teams often work in isolation. Well-designed offices, training spaces and welfare facilities can bring individuals, and disciplines together reducing isolation. Careful acoustic treatments and booths for confidential conversations in high quality open-plan offices with good views and natural daylighting can help to encourage a feeling of combined purpose and encourage interaction between clinical teams – and will be vital to foster a more integrated approach to community healthcare. Neighbourhood health is ultimately about shifting power closer to communities. Many of the best ideas will come from residents, frontline teams, and local partners. Design expertise helps create the conditions in which those ideas can surface, be tested, and be embedded in the system. Architects’ experience in healthcare design will help articulate how these centres can become catalysts for neighbourhood transformation rather than just new premises. They are not simply buildings, but platforms for integrated working, reflecting local identity and community ownership, strengthening trust and engagement, and user-centred design.
Matt Livey
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